JamGuys

I don't know the answer to the question but you should be able to see if there are any active caches in the area by checking the geocaching.com Google Map. ... oops, I just realized that you're not a Premium Member so maybe this option is not available to you.

Yes, just don't do 'em.

That's correct but a quick look through your caches indicates that the missing TB you speak of has only been "missing" for about two weeks, and that at least 10 people have visited the cache since the TB was placed there. It's quite possible that the person who took it simply hasn't had a chance to log it as yet (could be on vacation, etc). I'd wait at least two months myself before marking a TB as missing from one of my caches. By the way, we visited Looe when we were in Cornwall two years ago ... very pretty place that, and we enjoyed a very nice seafood meal in one of the local restaurants too!

I usually do both! I'll post congratulations to the FTF with a rolling banner on the cache page (e.g. Wildlife Encounter!) and then I'll send them a congratulatory note. All of the caches I've hidden so far are puzzle caches that take a bit of mental and sometimes physical effort to find. One of the reasons I like to contact the FTF is to obtain additional feedback on my puzzle and to see what method they used to solve it. Doesn't matter to me HOW they solved it (or even if they solved it at all!) but it does help me to create better puzzles in the future. And yes, it does give a boost to my ego when I receive a word of praise from the FTF themselves for the ingenuity and creativity of my puzzle cache! But the main reason behind my sending them an e-mail has to do with the fact that our geocaching community in Oklahoma is relatively small and chances are that, if we haven't already done so, we're sure to meet each other at one of our local monthly meetings. Sending a congratulatory note to another cacher .... FTF or otherwise .... is simply a gesture of friendship on my part and it's always rewarding to me when the recipient returns the favor.

You know, your interpretation is probably the right one but I guess one can argue that the guideline written this way is somewhat ambiguous, especially to those of us who are neither English majors nor legal scholars.

Actually, a closer look at the wording of the guideline does seem to give a bit of leeway, i.e. "The geocache is presumed to be commercial if the finder is required to go inside a business, interact with employees, and/or purchase a product or service, or if the cache listing has overtones of advertising, marketing, or promotion." If there is no obligation to purchase a product or service, and assuming the cache listing has no "overtones of advertising, marketing, or promotion", then it seems to me that such a cache IS acceptable under the guidelines. But then again, I am no legal scholar .....

Here in central Oklahoma, two of our more visited caches are in travel centers (visitor centres for you folks across the pond) and you have to ask for the containers at the front desk. These travel centers both have small gift shops inside so I guess they would have to be considered business establishments as well. For many cachers who are more accustomed to operating in stealth mode, walking up to the counter and asking for the cache is in itself a very unique experience! Edited to remove incriminating links!

And that's very interesting to know too!

Yes, if you crop it in such a way that it has more vertical pixels relative to horizontal after cropping, and still have more than 600 pixels horizontally. BTW the horizontal format is called "landscape" format and the vertical "portrait". Okay, that's nice to know, thanks!

Yes, how about trying this place? W B & R Surplus 715 Lander Ave Turlock, CA 95380 (209) 634-4956‎ You can surely get an ammo can for less than $10, even in California!

Maybe I'm not understanding this but why would I have to resize anything? Aren't the images (700 KB each for the ones I posted) automatically sized to a width of 600 pixels at the time of upload? I'm making the assumption that any pics I take with my 3.2 megapix camera set on medium resolution will easily max out on the 600 pixel width allowed. However, if I really wanted to portray the beauty of a particular spot with a larger picture and more photographic detail, it sounds as though it would be better for me to upload a vertical rather than a horizontal image, even if it requires first converting a horizontal to a vertical by means of judicious cropping.

So if I took a high resolution image in horizontal format, cropped it so it ends up looking vertical, and then uploaded it, it would still turn out larger than if I'd uploaded the entire original image in horizontal format, right?

Okay, I'm sure there's a simple answer for this but here's something that has always puzzled me. Why is it that a vertically-oriented image uploaded onto the gc.com site like this ... ... is always larger than a horizontally-oriented image taken with the same camera and camera settings? (in this case, the same pic turned 90 degrees on its side) A not too technical answer would be much appreciated!

Well, my new cache just got published and the evince link on it (as well as my other caches) seems to be working so whatever kink there was appears to have sorted itself out ..... at least for now.

I use the geocheck.org site for my puzzle caches. Once an entry is created for a cache it'll I can log in and check and see every guess on the coordinates that was made and a count of correct and incorrect guesses. One of the really cool things about it is that it'll produce a satellite photo map with all the guesses on it. It makes it pretty easy to tell which digit some are just guessing on. Thanks for the response! Not exactly what I was asking about but I'll take it nonetheless. At first I thought you'd made a typo with geocheck vs. Geochecker. I've never come across geocheck.org ..... it does look very interesting though and I may just try it instead, thanks!

No-one? Anyone? I just want a bit of reassurance that I'm not caught up in some kind of puzzle checking warp, that's all.

Okay, the evince co-ordinate checker links on all of my puzzle cache pages have mysteriously disappeared. I'm also having a lot of trouble adding evince to a new puzzle that's just been submitted for review. The link works for a while then doesn't. Funny thing is, I tried using GeoChecker and the same thing happened. Weird! It's almost as if an occult hand, etc ........

Good idea. How about a test? 1. It's OK to place food in caches if: a ) It's well wrapped b ) it can withstand extremes of temperatures c ) it tastes good d ) All of the above e ) None of the above 2.If you are placing a cache on private property make sure you: a ) do it late at night so nobody sees you b ) camouflage it well so the property owner won't find it by accident c ) ask permission 3. A reviewer has failed to publish your cache as posted, so you: a ) post a note in the forums ranting about how unfair the reviewers are. b ) call Jeremy at home and discuss it with him. c) Try to work with the reviewer to determine a way to make it acceptable. 4. When choosing a cache container: a ) make sure its cheap in case its stolen b ) make sure its easy to open c ) make sure it's solid, watertight and an appropriate size for the area. 5. The best places to hide caches are: a ) in hypodermic needle strewn lots next to homeless encampments b ) next to railroad tracks, bridges or military installations c ) in an area that others may find appealing 6. When choosing trade items for your cache: a ) always use broken toys from the bottom of your kids toy chest since its all about the hunt anyway. b ) dump discards from your junk drawer in the into the cache c ) thoughtfully chose items that might be of interest to adults and children 7. When using old food containers as cache containers always: a ) wipe the inside clean with your t-shirt b ) shake out the crumbs c ) run it through several diswhasher cycles and soak it in bleach, Oxy Clean or baking soda for a few days. 8.After placing your cache you should: a ) leave it be, other geocachers will take care of it b ) forget about it c ) visit it periodically, or if someone reports a problem. 9. If a visitor reports a problem with your cache: a ) post a note asking that the next visitor fix it. b ) let it go. Some people actually like caches with soaked log books and 2 inches of slimy water inside. c ) Visit the site at the next possible opportunity to check on the cache 10. If your state park implements rules regarding cache placement, you should: a ) Ignore them. Rules are for fools. b ) place a multi with the first leg outside the park c ) Follow the rules 11. If your 1 difficulty cache has several consecutive "not founds" you should: a ) Ignore it. They were probably newbies b ) Ask someone who found it before to check on it for you. c ) Promptly check for yourself to see if its still there. 12. If you choose not to replace your missing cache: a ) Leave it active so others can still enjoy the area b ) Disable it and leave it that way for at least 2 years. c ) Archive the cache 13. If your local park bans geocaching: a ) place your cache anyway b ) try to discuss the benefits of geocaching with the park manager 14. When placing a cache deep in the forest: a ) use a micro and hide it so well, people have to turn over every rock and log to find it. b ) hide it well enough so it won't be accidentally discovered, but impact from searching will be limited. 15. When placing a geocache in a popular city park: a ) use a big ammo box with the military markings intact to scare off muggles. b ) use a PVC pipe, or morter shell and add a fuse and some wires as a joke. b ) use a small cache container, or micro and hide it carefully. 16. When placing a cache in an environmentally sensitive area you should: a ) walk on your tip-toes b ) forget about it and look elsewhere 17. If you notice social paths and other damage around your cache you should: a ) leave it. It will make it easier for others to find it. b ) post a note on your cache page asking people to be careful. c ) move the cache to a different area. 18. If you find a denned bear in the cave where you placed your cache you should: a ) hide there with a camera and take pictures of the look on people's faces when they see the bear. b ) grab a stick and drive the bear out of your cave. c ) disable the cache until the bear has left the den for the season. 19. Your encrypted clue should contain: a ) Important information about parking, trespassing issues and special equipment that might be required. b ) Several paragraphs, describing in detail which trails to take to get to the cache. c ) Information that will help narrow down the search area if the finder is having problems. 20. When placing caches on vacation: a ) Make sure its placed in an interesting spot b ) Ask local Geocachers if they mind c ) just don't do it. 21. If the reviewer won't publish your cache because it is near active RR tracks: a ) move it away and after it is published sneak it back to your original spot b ) archive all of your other caches in a fit of pique. c ) move it far enough away to satisfy the reviewer 22. Caches with agendas are not allowed, with the following exception: a ) Caches that support the military b ) Caches that spread the word of the lord c ) Caches that promote hemorrhoid awareness d ) none 23. Caches can be buried if: a ) your dog digs the hole for you b ) you use dynamite to clear the hole. Dynamite is not a "pointy" object so its OK. c ) Cache shouldn't be buried 24. Hiding geocaches are a fun way to: a ) promote your business b ) lure unsuspecting people into dangerous situations c ) entertain other geocachers 25. Which of the following make good cache swag: a ) live hamsters b ) cigarettes and little bottles of booze c ) kielbasi d ) hunting knives e ) carabiners Not sure if this was meant to be tongue-in-cheek humor only (seems too well thought out to me to be so) but this kind of MCQ test actually has merit as it is both educational and entertaining and reinforces many of the key concepts in good cache placement and maintenance. I would recommend that this (or a more palateable version) be placed on the gc.com site with a link and a tagline that says something like ... "SO YOU THINK YOU'RE READY TO HIDE YOUR FIRST GEOCACHE" In fact, it could be set up so that, if you don't score at least 80%, you'll have to retake the test .......... but only after EITHER a waiting period of 3 months (preferably spent boning up on the cache placement guidelines) OR you've logged another 50 caches, whichever comes first!

It was a glib, nonsensical comment meant to lighten up a thread that was starting to turn political. I guess I need to stick the smiley faces in there because my sense of humor goes over some people's heads. A well-placed smiley face can make a world of difference.

129! Or at least that's how long it appears to have taken me to step up to the plate and hide a cache of my own. But you see, I wanted my first hide to be an intricate Scrabble puzzle (because Scrabble was my favorite pastime before geocaching came along and I also love puzzles), and I wanted the listing to be "perfect" with colored text and pictures (including one of the puzzle itself on the cache page like I'd seen a few other people do). However, since I didn't know anything at all about using HTML code, I had to learn the basics of how this works from scratch. So, while I don't believe that there's a magic number of caches you need to find before hiding one of your own, it does seem to make more sense to me to gain a bit of experience by finding a variety of other people's caches first before you take the plunge and hide one of your own. .

Um, that Occult hand sure has been busy lately, eh? I'll be the first to mention the ol' method of going to the profiles of some of the longest tenured, and consistently active cachers in your area, and looking through their old finds. Or as mentioned, you can look at anyone's hides, and see their archived caches. Oh, and there used to be a way to search for them, it was taken away a couple of years ago, people whined, and it is promised that the ability to search for them will some day be restored. Yes, I'm getting to fear this occult hand myself as it seems to have it's own agenda .....

This was looking pretty good until Page 4 when I ran into an agenda! Really??? All the way to page 4?? Oh, maybe you meant an agenda you didn't agree with... I guess I'm just slow on picking up on these pesky agendas .........

This was looking pretty good until Page 4 when I ran into an agenda!

Too true. I actually went back and changed the post to read "might be okay" instead of "okay" right before posting it for that very reason. It just goes to show, someone could object to almost any agenda, so it's best to leave them completely out of the game. I'm glad TPTB made the decision to do that. Yes, but what about those dad-burned "cemetery tributes to vampires" and such? I smell a hidden agenda there!